Changing consumers, changing employees – In how far is FLIGBY a good answer to the latest social trends?
I met the FLIGBY method to support leaders and organizations during my Ph.D. studies at the Corvinus University of Budapest. My Ph.D. research is about new phenomena in consumer behavior generated by digitalization and technological development. The topic seems to have no link to the FLIGBY method, but in fact, they have many things in common.
We all feel the changes in our life, which are brought by the new technologies: we manage our lives online, we are seeking personalized, tailor-made solutions for our comfort and convenience in all areas of our life. But not only our single life is in change.
Nóra Kisfürjesi
The societies are in a transformation from the previous, strict system to a more mobile, individual-oriented structure (Bauman, 2000). Since society is a beautiful symbiotic system, where individuals are workers, consumers, and members of social groups at the same time, these changes are present in the labor market and in consumption as well.
Hyperindivualism (sociology): A tendency for people to act in a highly individual way, without regard to society.
Hyperindividualism and the need for mobility are raising in consumption, and employees are also seeking organizations, where their individual needs are considered. The connection between employees and employers is also in transformation in the same way, how consumers’ bond towards brands and producers are changing: the relationships among consumers and brands become looser, more democratic, and flexible (Eckhardt et al., 2019). And just as there is a common understanding among marketers, that the key to success is to place the consumers in the center of our business, this concept is reflected in the FLIGBY method as well: the key to running a sustainable business can be found in the individuals’ wellbeing.
My greatest learning during our FLIGBY course was, that keeping individuals in the flow during their work, will generate a positive vicious circle, where corporate atmosphere, profitability, and sustainability will grow. For marketers it is not enough anymore to satisfy consumers’ basic needs, we have to give an experience for them. In this changing social atmosphere individuals (consumers and employees) are prioritizing values, like happiness, personal wellbeing, and consumption is shifting from materialist towards experience consumption (Lawson et al., 2016). If we assume, that these consumers have the same orientation in their workplace, then FLIGBY is a suitable approach to satisfy our employees, give them a „corporate experience” (similarly to brand experience) and ensure a sustainable business at the end of the day.
The social trends can not be separated for members of society, consumers, and employees, since the individuals incorporate all three roles at the same time.
If consumers are used to getting personalized offers, take part in shaping brands and innovations together with the producers (Eckhardt et al., 2019), they will look for these solutions in other fields of their life, among others in their workplace as well. Leaders are suggested to put their workers’ well-being in the first place with no worries because this approach will benefit from a profitability and sustainability point of view.
by: Nóra Kisfürjesi
marketer, #branderprise, # brandertain
Ph.D. student at Corvinus University of Budapest
Bauman, Z. (2000) Liquid Modernity. Cambridge, UK: Malden, MA: Polity Press; Blackwell
Eckhardt, G. M., Houston, M. B., Jiang, B., Lamberton, C., Rindfleisch, A., Zervas, G. (2019). Marketing in the Sharing Economy. Journal of Marketing, 83 (5), 5–27. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022242919861929
Lawson, S. J., Gleim, M. R., Perren, R., Hwang, J. (2016). Freedom from ownership: An exploration of access-based consumption. Journal of Business Research, 69(8), 2615–2623. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2016.04.021